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Date:29th May 2012
Sharp and Sony terminate their JV on large-sized
LCD panels and modules
Sharp Corporation ("Sharp") and Sony Corporation
("Sony") have announced that their joint venture
relationship to produce and sell large-sized LCD panels
and modules will terminate, and that Sony will sell its
shares (representing 7.04% of the issued shares) in Sharp
Display Products Corporation ("SDP") to SDP*.
In consideration for the sale of shares, Sony will receive
cash consideration equal to its original investment of 10
billion yen to be paid by SDP*. Both the sale of shares
and the payment of cash consideration will be completed
by the end of June 2012.
On July 1, 2009, Sharp transferred its LCD panel plant
in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture, to SDP, a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Sharp. On December 29, 2009, Sony invested
10 billion yen into SDP in exchange for new shares issued
by SDP to Sony (representing 7.04% of the issued shares
of SDP) and, as a result, SDP became a joint venture company
of Sharp and Sony as of the same date. In light of the rapidly
changing market for LCD panels and LCD televisions, in March
2012 Sharp and Sony agreed to amend the original joint venture
agreement to provide that Sony would not make additional
capital injections in SDP. Based on this amendment, the
companies agreed to study studied the future direction of
the joint venture and other potential business relationships
between the parties, including with respect to Sony's interest
in SDP.
Note: * In the event SDP is not able to purchase or pay
for those shares due to applicable legal restrictions on
acquiring its own shares or for any other reason, Sharp
will purchase those shares from Sony.
No material impact is anticipated on Sharp's consolidated
financial forecasts for the fiscal year ending March 31,
2013.
No material impact is anticipated on Sony's consolidated
financial forecasts for the fiscal year ending March 31,
2013.
Author: Srinivasa Reddy N
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